Combination heater, ventilator and light fixture



April 3, 1962 A. E. NASH COMBINATION HEATER, VENTILATOR AND LIGHT FIXTURE Filed Oct. 12, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. fl/ZCT; I /Vd s'%.

A ril 3, 1962 A. E. NASH 3,028,475

COMBINATION HEATER, VENTILATOR AND LIGHT FIXTURE Filed Oct. 12, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 E-E- M INVENTOR. fi'ZZerz Z. N467;

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A. E. NASH April 3, 1962 COMBINATION HEATER, VENTILATOR AND LIGHT FIXTURE Filed 001. 12, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. fl/Zer? Z. A/Js;.

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United States Patent tion of Michigan Filed Oct. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 845,745

5 Claims. (Cl. 21939) This invention relates to ceiling lighting fixtures and particularly to a combination ceiling lighting fixture for a bathroom which will also heat and ventilate the bathroom.

It is one object of the invention to provide a combination heating, ventilating and lighting unit adapted to be mounted on the ceiling of a room wherein the heating element of the unit isdisposed directly between the lighting elements thereof and the air is drawn into the room and recirculated over the heating element back into the room with a portion of the outgoing air directed so as to. flow around the heating elements without being heated to provide an insulating layer of cool air to reduce the transfer of heat from the heating element to the lighting elements.

It is another object of the invention to provide a combination heating and ventilating unit of the type described above wherein theheating element is located in the center of the lower surface of the unit and a fan draws air from the room around the outer periphery of the'unit to provide an insulating layer of cool air between the unit and the surrounding supporting structure inwhich the unit is mounted, and then recirculates the air back 'into the-room through the center of the unit and over the heating elementwith a portion of the air'bypassing the heating element by flowing therearoundjto provide and insulating layer of cool air to reduce the transfer of heat from the heating elementt'o the adjacent lighting elements of the unit. I g a I It isa further object of the invention to provide a combination heating and ventilating unit that can be mounted in a supporting wall structure with a minimum of contacting surface area to reduce the transfer of heat from the heating elements of the unit to the supporting wall It is a still further object of the invention to provide a combination heating and ventilating unit having a fan that draws the air fromthe room and passes it out through an outlet opening in the unit wherein a pivotally mounted shutter is provided which is movable into a position to close off the ventilator outlet and direct the flow of air back through the unit overa heating element thereof and into the room, the shutter having a curved configuration that reduces fluttering as it pivots from one position to another. I

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will'be specifically pointed out or otherwise become api r 3,028,475 Patented Apr. 3, 1962 "ice,

Referring to FIG. 1, a combination unit embodying features of the present invention is illustrated which is comprised of a circular housing 12 having a radially projecting flange 14 on the lower periphery thereof and a scroll-shaped'blower wheel enclosure 16 on the upper end thereof for enclosing a blower wheel as will be described. An outlet opening 18 having a flap valve 20 pivotally mounted therein communicates with the space inside the enclosure 16 to exhaust air therefrom. The flap valve 20 enables the air to freely pass from the enclosure 16, but prevents air from passing in the reverse direction. A grille and lens assembly 22 is secured below the housing 12 and includes a decorative metal rim 24 which is spaced from the flange 14 to define a space therebetween to provide an anular air inlet opening for the unit.

Referring to FIG. 2 the unit 10 is illustrated as mounted in a ceiling 26 of a room, such as a bathroom for example. The unit fits within a large aperture 28 in the ceiling and is suitably supported between the ceiling joists with the flange 14 flush with the underside of the ceiling. A suitable conduit or duct 36 is connected to the outlet opening 18 and communicates with a suitable aperture in the outside wall 32 of the housing to exhaust the air from the unit to the atmosphere. A suitable wall cap or hood 34 can be mounted on the outside wall 32 to cover a and protect the open end of the duct When the unit FIG. 1 looking in a direction of the arrow A thereof, the

outlet portion thereof being shown in section;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the unit illustrated in FIG. 4, taken along the line 55 thereof; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the unit illustrated in FIG. 4 taken along the line 66 thereof.

is in operation, the blower therein draws the air through the annular space between the rim 24 and flange 14, out through the outlet opening 18, through the duct 30 and out to the atmosphere. An electric switch box 36 is also provided which is connected to the unit 10 by an electric cable 38 to provide electrical power for the unit.

Referring to FIG. 3, an exploded view of the combination unit of FIG. 1 is illustrated. It will be observed that the cylindrical housing 12 can be provided with laterally outwardly extending mounting brackets 39 to facilitate attachment of the unit between the ceiling joists of a room. An electric motor and blower wheel assembly 40 comprising an electric motor 41, a blower wheel 42 and a mounting bracket 43 is adapted to be mounted within the cylindrical housing 12 by means of the brackets 43 with the blower wheel 42 positioned within the cavity defined by the scroll-shaped enclosure 16. The blower vwheel assembly forces air outwardly through the outlet opening 18 and, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter, when the outlet opening 18 is closed off by a shutter the air is directed back down through the unit by an internal duct 44 from which it passes over a heater element 46 as will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

A heater ring assembly 45 is adapted to have the heater element 46 suitably mounted within a rectangular reflector shell 47 thereof and a stamped plate 48 having a threaded stud 49 projecting therefrom is secured to and extends between the walls of the reflector shell 47. A central aperture 5t}. of the grille and lens assembly 22 is disposed over the threaded stud 49 and a knurled knob 51 is screwed onto the threaded stud to secure the assembly 22 to the heater ring assembly 45. The flange 14 is secured to brackets 52 projecting radially from the heater ring assembly which, in turn, are secured to the periphery of the housing 12 by wing nuts 53.

Before the heater ring assembly 45 with the grille and lens assembly 22 secured thereto is fastened to the housing as described, it is first rotated through in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 to align the right end of the reflector shell 47 with the opening in the duct air into the unit through the annular inlet opening defined by the rim 24 and flange 14. A suitable heater appliance plug 55 is provided for connection to the heater element ,46 as will be described, and electrical plugs 56 and 57'are also provided which are adapted to be inserted in electrical receptacles 58 and 59 in the wall of the housing 12 for making an electrical connection to the motor 41 and light bulbs which are adapted tobe insertcdin suitable sockets supported between sheet metal guards 6t} and 61, respectively.

Referringto FIGS. and 6 in, particular, the housing '12 comprises acylindrical wall portion.62 having a washershaped cover 63 enclosing the open upper end thereof.

The mounting flange 14 is suitably secured to a flange 64 projecting radially outwardly from the lower periphery'of the wall portion by the plurality of wing nuts 53, or the,

like. The blower wheel enclosure 16 has a scroll-shaped side wall 65 enclosed by a top cover 66 and a bottom cover 67. The upper right end of the blower enclosure, as viewed in FIG. 4, terminates in 'a straight outlet section 68 having the cylindrical flange defining the outlet opening 18 mounted on the end thereof. Thus, the enclosure .16 forms a scroll about the blower wheel 42 with the outlet section 68 projecting substantially tangentially therefrom so that when the blower wheelis rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4, it will move air-through the secured to a side wall 74 which extends along the right and bottom sides of the enclosure 70, as viewed in FIG. 4.

The washer-shaped cover .63 of the housing 12 has an aperture 75 thereinto communicate the space within the rectangular enclosure 70 with the duct 44 (-FIG. 3) therebelow. When the shutter 71 is closed as illustrated-in ,FIG. ,4, it closes off the opening 69 leading into the rectangular enclosure 70, and when'it is opened to theposition illustrated in phantom the major portion of the air passing into the straight section 68 of the scroll-shaped blower enclosure 16 is deflected into'the rectangular enclosure ,70 and down through theopening '75 into theduct 44as will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

It will be observed that the washer-shaped cover- 63 of the housing 12 and the bottom cover 67 of the blower wheel enclosure 16 both have aligned central apertures'76 and 78, respectively. As'previously mentioned with reference to FIG. 3, the blower wheel 42 is secured within the enclosure. 16 with a downwardly radially outwardly flared flange 80 thereof extending through and engaging the underside of the cover 63. The electric motor 41 is disposed beneath the blower wheel assembly With the output shaft 84 thereof drivingly connected to the blower wheel.

The electric motor is secured to the bracket 43 by suitable screws 88, or the like, and the bracket, in turn,-is secured to the cover 63 by suitable bolts 90 extending through legs 92 projecting therefrom as illustrated in FIG. 5. It .will be observed that the legs-92 extend over thevflange 80 in a manner to lock the flange against the underside of the cover 63.

The heater n'ng assembly 45 comprises a cylindrical supporting ring 94 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical wall 62 of the housing 12 supported on the lower periphery of the wall by the brackets 52 which, in turn, are suitably'secured to diametrically opposed portions of the supporting ring, such as by spotwelding or the like. The brackets 52 have outwardly extending legs 98 bolted to the underside ofthe flange 14 by a pair of the wing nuts 53. A downwardly presenting, channel-shaped member 100 extends across the diameter of the supporting ring 94 and is suitably secured thereto at each end such as by'brackets 102. The channel s'haped member has downwardly extending legs 104 and 166 interconnected by a web 108. The right endof the web as viewed in FIG. 6 is cut away as at and the upper edge of thelegs are provided with laterally outwardlyprojecting flanges lll having asuitable felting or gasket material 114 secured thereto.

The lower end of the duct 44 communicates with the opening defined by the cut-away portion of the web 108. The duct 44 is formed from a channel-shaped member having a web 118 and a pair of legs 120 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 6). Laterally projecting fianges 122, 124 and 126 are provided on the three edges of the legs 120. The flanges 122 are secured to the cylindrical side wall 62 of the housing 12, the flanges 124 on the bottomare secured to the flanges 112 projecting laterally outwardly from the upper portion ofthe legs 104 and 166 ofthe'channel-shaped supporting member 100 with the felting or gasket material 114 disposeddherebetween,and the flanges 126 on the upper endof theduct are secured to the underside of the washer-shaped Ycoverf63 about the opening75 therein. 4 i i v The metal reflectorelernent 47 is also channel-shaped and has a perforated web 130 and downwardlyextending legs 132 and 134 secured tothe legs 104 and 1060f the channel-shaped supporting member 100 by suitable bolts 136 or the like. Suitable spacers 138 are provided tospacethe legs of .the .refiectorelement inwardly from the legs of thechannel-shaped supporting element 100. Asillustratedin FIG. filthe rightlendrof the web 130 iscut away as.at 132 to permit the air pas-singthrough the duct 44 ,to pass downwardly between thelegs ,otthe reflector element, someof the; airalso passing between the webs 108 and 130 and through the perforationsinthe web 130 .over the heating element 46. The :electrical heating elementi46 is secured within .thechannel-shaped 'reflectorelement .47 by a plurality .of brackets 144 engaging suitable insulating material 146 surrounding .the 40 legs of the heating element. The gstamped supporting plate48 extends between :and is affixed to the legs 132 and .134 of the reflector element centrally thereof, with the threaded stud 150 projectingdownwardlytherefrom. The grille and lens assembly 22 ,comprises thefdecorative rim 24 having the grille v54 extending across the diarneter thereof and supported thereon by flanges 154 prejecting from the end of the grille as most clearly illus-' .trated in 6. A transversely extending, j-stamped plate 156 having the central aperture 5 therein extends between and is secured to the sides of the grille beneath the stamped plate 48, and a plurality of longitudinally extending rods 158'project from the stamped plate 156 with transversely extending rods 160 secured thereto to cover the heating element 46.

A pair of translucent glass lens 162 and 164 having laterally outwardly projecting lips166 supported :on the decorative rim'24 and the side walls of the grille 5,4 are .securedto the decorative rim by a plurality of clips 168 which extend over the lips 166 and engage a vertical leg of a plurality of J-shaped elements 170 secured to the decorative rim24. With this construction, the :rim 24,

glass elements 162 and 164 and the grille 54 are all secured together into one common assembly 22 which fits over downwardly extending web portions 1720f the brackets 102 (FIG. 6) and also over the threaded stud 150 which projects through the central aperture in the stamped plate 156. The knurled knob 51 is screwed onto the projecting end of the threaded stud to secure the assembly in position.

A pair of channel-shaped guard elements :60 and .61,

'spectively, of the channeleshaped supporting member 100 by suitable screws 184 or the like. Suitable light "bulb sockets 186 and 188 are mounted on the webs'180 of the guard elements 60 and 61 to enable light bulbs to be positioned between the protecting legs 182 of the guard elements.

As most clearly illustrated in FIG. 6 a stamped bracket 190 is secured to the bottom right corner of the duct 44 and supports a shaft 192 having a temperature responsive shutter operating coil 194 supported on the lower end thereof which conventionally comprises a spirally wound strap of metal having the end thereof at the center of the spiral afiixed to the bottom of the rod 192 and the outer end thereof suitably fixed to the supporting frame or housing. When the heating element 46 is turned on the heat therefrom will cause the shutter control element 194 to rotate the shaft 192 which has the upper end thereof secured to the linkage assembly 72 to pivot the shutter 71 from the position indicated in solid lines in FIG. 4 to the position indicated in phantom. When the heating element 46 is turned off and cools down, the shutter operating coil will rotate the shaft 192 in the opposite direction to pivot the shutter 71 to its closed posi- 'tion wherein it closes the opening communicating the rectangular enclosure 70 and duct 44 with the interior of the blower wheel enclosure 16.

As previously mentioned, the electric cable 38 (FIG. 2) is connected to a receptacle box 200 mounted on the cylindrical wall of the housing 12. As illustrated in FIG. 3 the inner face of the receptacle box 200 has a plate 202 thereon upon which female receptacles 58 and 59 aremounted to enable the plug 56 of the motor 41 and the plug 57 for the two light bulbs to be inserted directly therein. The heater appliance plug 55 is electrically connected to the heating element 46 by means of two male prongs 204 and 206 (FIG. 6) wired to the heating element 46 and mounted on the web 108 of the channelshaped supporting member 100. A suitable fuse element 208 is also provided to shutoff the heating element should it overheat.

When the combination unit 10 is used as a ventilator, a first switch in the wall switch box 36 is actuated to energize the electric motor 41. The shutter 71 (FIG. 4) is in its closed position and the electric motor 41 rotates the blower wheel to draw air through the annular inlet opening between the flange 14 and the rim 24, through the space between the supporting ring 94 and the cylindrical wall 62 of the housing 12, into the blower 42 through the bottom opening defined by the flange 80 thereof and out through the outlet section 68 and the outlet opening 18 (FIG. 4) as illustrated by the arrows in FIGS. 5 and 6. When the unit is venting in this manner the heatingelement, of course, would not be turned on. However, if desired the light bulbs can be turned on by a second switch in the wall switch box 36.

When it is desired to turn on the heating element 46 to provide heat for the room, a third switch in the switch box 36 is actuated to energize the heating element. As the temperature of the heating element increases, the shutter operating coil 194 rotates the shaft 192 (FIG. 6) in response to the increasing temperature to actuate the linkage assembly 72 (FIG. 4) to pivot the shutter 71 to the position illustrated in phantom in FIG. 4. This divertsa major portion of the air into the rectangular enclosure 70, down through the duct 44 through the openings in the right ends (as viewed in FIG. 6) of the Webs 108 and 130 of the supporting member 100 and reflector 47, respectively, out over the heating element and through the grille 54 back into the room. Of course, as previously mentioned, some of the air will pass between the Webs 108 and 130, through the perforations in the web 130 and out over the heating element 46 in this manner. This flow of air provides an insulating layer of cool air between the heating element and electric motor 41.

Referring to FIG. 5, because of the spaces provided between the leg 132 of the reflector 47 and the leg 104 of the supporting member 100 and between the legs 134 and 106 of the two members, a portion of the air passing downwardly from the duct 44 will pass through these spaces and out into the room without passing directly over the heating element 46. This provides an important insulating layer of cool air that reduces heat transfer from the heating element to the electric light bulbs on either side thereof and, consequently, prevents overheating of the light bulbs. It is this feature which enables the heating element to be mounted directly between the light bulbs and still meet the electrical safety code requirement of all the various state and local governments. -It will'be readily appreciated that overheating of the electric light bulbs by the heating element would present a serious safety hazard. Still further, by virtue of the spacing between the supporting ring 94 and the cylindrical wall of the housing 12, the air passing through the annular inlet opening also provides an insulating layer of cool air to insulate the entire unit from the supporting ceiling structure on which it is mounted. Of course, when the heating element is turned off and its temperature drops, the shutter operating coil 194 will pivot the shutter 71 to its closed position and the unit will again vent the room.

Referring particularly to FIG. 4, it will be observed that the pivoting end of the shutter 71 is curved as at 210. The reason for this is that when the linkage assembly 72 pivots the shutter 71 toward its phantom position in response to the increasing temperature of the heating element 46 as just described, the movement of the shutter is controlled solely by the spirally wound shutter operating coil 194. It was found that the air stream passing out the straight section 68 and outlet opening 18 tended to grab the shutter and pivot it further than it would normally be pivoted by the shutter operating coil 194. The shutter operating coil would then recoil in response to this overpivoting and pivot the shutter 71 back in the opposite direction. This resulted in an excessive amount of undesirable fluttering. In searching for a way to overcome this undesirable fluttering of the shutter 71, it was found that by curving the pivoting end 210 thereof as illustrated, the air flowed around the end of the shutter in a manner that did not create any appreciable fluttering. Eliminating the fluttering in this manner enabled the desirable spirally wound shutter operating coil 194 to be used rather than a more complicated and expensive element that would be strong enough to resist the fluttering.

While it will be apparent that the embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects of the invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change. without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is: a

l. A combination heater, ventilator and lighting unit comprising a housing having an open lower end, a grille and lens assembly mounted beneath and spaced from the lower periphery of said housing to define an annular inlet opening therebetween, a heating element centrally mounted within said housing adjacent to said grille and lens assembly, means for operatively supporting a lighting element mounted within said housing on each side of said heating element, blower means mounted within said housing for drawing air through said annular opening into the housing and passing it over said heating element and out through said grille and lens assembly, and means for by-passing a portion of said air between each of the light elements and the heating element and out through the grille assembly without directly contacting the heating element, whereby a layer of relatively cool air will be provided between said housing and said heating element to insulate the latter from said housing.

2. A combination heater, ventilator and lighting unit comprising a housing having an open lower end, a grille and lens assembly mounted beneath and spaced from the lower periphery of said housing to define an annular inlet opening therebetween, a heating element centrally mounted within said housing adjacent to said grille and lens assembly, means for operatively Supporting a lighting element mounted within said housing on each side of said heating element, said housing having a scroll-shaped enclosure on the upper end thereof and communicating therewith, said enclosure having a straight outlet section extending substantially tangentially therefrom and terminating in a vertical outlet opening, a blower wheel mounted within said scroll-shaped enclosure for drawing air through said annular inlet opening into the housing and out through said outlet opening, a rectangular enclosure on the upper end of said housing adjacent to said straight outlet section and having a first vertical opening therein communicating with the outlet section adjacent to said outlet opening and a second opening in the bottom thereof communicating with the interior of said housing, a pivotallymounted shutter movable from a first position wherein it closes off said first opening to a second position wherein it substantially closes off said outlet opening and deflects the air passing through said straight outlet section into said rectangular enclosure, a duct internally mounted within said housing for directing the air from said rectangular enclosure downwardly over said heating element and out through said grille and lens assembly, and means for bypassing a portion of the air from said duct between each of the lighting elements and the heating element and out through the grille assembly without directly contacting the heating element, whereby a layer of relatively cool air will be provided between said housing and said heating element to insulate the latter from said housing.

'3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein the vertical plane of said shutter is curved in a direction away from said outlet opening, and including a shutter operating coil for pivoting said shutter from said first position to said second position in response to the rising temperature of said heating element.

' 4. A combination heater, ventilator and lighting unit comprising a housing having a cylindrical wall and a washer-shaped cover mounted on the upper edge of said cylindrical wall, a scroll-shaped enclosure mounted on said washer-shaped cover and communicating with the space inside said housing through the central aperture in the washer-shaped cover, said scroll-shaped enclosure having a straight outlet section extending substantially tangentially therefrom and terminating in an outlet opening, a rectangular enclosure mounted on said washershaped cover and having a first vertical opening therein communicating with said straight outlet section and a second opening in the bottom thereof communicating with the interior of said housing, a pivotally mounted shutter movable from a first position wherein it closes off said first opening to a second position wherein it substantially closes off said outlet opening and deflects the air passing through said straight outlet section into said rectangular enclosure,

an electric motor and blower wheel assembly mounted on the underside of said washer-shaped cover with the blower wheel disposed within said scroll-shaped enclosure, a heater ring assemblymounted on the lower periphery of said housing, said heater ring assembly comprising a supporting ring having a downwardly presentingchannelshaped supporting member extending across the diameter thereof, said supporting ring partially projectingfrom the housing and cooperating'with said cylindricalpwallto define a vertical annular opening, said heater ring assembly also including a downwardly presenting, channel-shaped ,v reflector supported within said channel-shaped supporting" member with the legs thereof spaced from the legs of the supporting member to define outlet passages therebetween, a heating element supported between the legs of said reflector element, a circular lens and grille assembly hav-, ing a grille extending across the diameter thereof with the lenses disposed on either side thereof, means for mounting said grille and lens assembly beneath said heater ring assembly spaced from the lower periphery of said housing to define an annular inlet opening thercbetween communicating with said vertical annular opening defined by the supporting ring and housing, the web of said channebshaped supporting member being cut away at one end thereof, the web of said reflector being cut: away at the corresponding end thereof and having perforations therein, an internal duct within said housing for communicating said rectangular enclosure with said one end of said channel-shaped supporting member, a-nda shutter operated coil mounted within said housing adjacent to said heater element for pivoting said shutter from said first position to said second position in response to the rising temperature of said heating element.

5. In a combination heater, ventilator and lighting unit, a housing, a scroll-shaped enclosure mounted on top of said housing and communicating with the interior of the housing, said enclosure having a straight outlet section extending substantially tangentially therefrom terminating in a vertical outlet opening, a rectangular enclosure mounted on top of said housing and having a vertical opening therein communicating with said straight outlet section adjacent to said vertical outlet opening, a pivotally mounted shutter movable from a first position wherein it closes oil the vertical opening in said rectangular enclosure to a second position wherein it substantially closes otif said outlet opening, a heating element mounted with-V in the lower portion of said housing, and duct means internally mounted within said housing for delivering air from said rectangular enclosure and passing it over said heating element, and a shutter operating coil means mounted within said housing adjacent to said heating element for pivoting said shutter from said first position to. said second position'in response to the rising temperature of said heating element, the pivoting vertical edge of said shutter being curved in a direction away from said outlet opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ford Jant20, 1959 

